Policymaker Community

Since 2006, the Tobin Project has built a robust network of policymakers in Congress, the Administration, and state governments. Offering on-the-ground insight into the public policy problems taken up by Tobin Project initiatives, this community collaborates and exchanges ideas with scholars at every stage of the research process. Policymakers offer their first-hand experience to ground and motivate the research of scholars, while also pointing toward key, unanswered questions arising out of the policy arena. At the same time, scholars provide expertise and discerning research, which the Tobin Project network can convey to those best positioned to effect change.

The Tobin Project policymaker network includes U.S. Representatives and Senators, legislative and executive branch staff, administration officials, practitioners at administrative agencies, and members of state government. Continuously innovating on its model, the Tobin Project has brought policymakers into research workshops and large conferences, facilitated evening roundtable discussions and policy-focused gatherings, and supported one-on-one meetings that bring academics and practitioners together around research inquiries and new ideas. These interactions focus on long-term research projects and enable scholars to surface timely and relevant questions from the policy community. Through ongoing engagement with the policy community, Tobin Project scholars are well-positioned to identify the most pressing challenges facing our country, and to pursue research that better advances understanding of these issues.

Scholars and policymakers exchange ideas at a 2011 meeting on "Sustainable National Security Strategy."

"I very much like the idea of mixing scholars with policymakers because it keeps both parties productively engaged with the issues at hand. It helps policymakers to 'think deeply' about the consequences of their choices and helps academics to focus on 'decisions and solutions' in very practical terms."- Congressman Robert Simmons (R-CT; Member of Congress, 2001-2007)